St. Peterburg's two major theater companies are both offering plays based on classic stories that were turned into iconic movies.
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| "Fiddler" at freeFall |
That's the end of the similarities, though. American Stage's "The Birds" is a bleak mood-piece, loosely based on the Daphne DuMaurier book on which Alfred Hitchcock loosely based a film. It's a rare misfire from Conor McPherson, one of the best contemporary playwrights.
Meanwhile, freeFall's "Fiddler on the Roof," the iconic musical based on a story by Sholem Aleichem, is a delight, with a revelatory performance by David Mann as Tevye.
"The Birds" starts off promising something special. Before curtain, the audience sits immersed in Jeffrey W. Dean's ominous set, the interior of house under attack by birds gone wild. Sound designer Todd Olson, who also directed, enhances the mood with distant birds sounds. It's a chilling pre-show. But then...
Just as show time approaches, the bird sounds silence, and the audience, almost literally captive, is subjected to three long curtain speeches -- two live, once recorded -- that total 15 boring, repetitive minutes of people mostly begging for donations.
The mood never recovers from those inexcusable infomercials. McPherson's play is alright, but not anywhere near as good as his best works ("Shining City" and "The Seafarer") and it couldn't dig itself out of the hole the curtain speeches dug for it.
It's the story of disparate people trapped in a house under attack, and doesn't seem to know what it wants to say. Fine performances by Roxanne Fay and Joseph Parra, that phenomenal set and great lighting by Joseph P. Oshry made the evening passable, but nothing more.
But freeFall's "Fiddler" is a treat. The staging by Eric Davis, the music direction by the great Michael Raabe and, especially, the performance by Mann make the overly familiar 50-year-old musical a treat.
Mann takes the role defined by Zero Mostel and Chaim Topol and re-invents it. Tevye's always been a lovable character, but he's usually portrayed as somewhat blubbering, even buffoonish. Mann makes him smart and lets the audience feel a profound level of sympathy for him.
The whole production is strong, and it's staged in the round so it the experience is more intimate than what we're accustomed to from musicals.
"The Birds" runs through Oct. 27 at American Stage, 163 Third St. N., St. Petersburg. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. $39-$49. 727-893-7529, www.americanstage.org.
"Fiddler on the Roof" runs through Nov. 3 at freeFall Theatre, 6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $29-$39. 727-498-5205, www.freefalltheatre.com.
For their first show in their spectacular new theater, Manatee Players staged a spectacular show, the flashy and high-tech “Miss Saigon.”
Now that they’re easing into the space, still so new that the unobtrusive smell of wet paint lingers, Manatee Players are offering a quieter, more traditional, but no less impressive musical.
“Fiddler on the Roof” is a gentle but emotional musical that gets its power from characters and delicate writing rather than bombast.
That makes the show especially demanding for the performers, but the Manatee Players cast pulls it off admirably.
The large choral numbers are among the highlights of this staging, but the performances in the important roles are all engaging.
Tevye, the beleaguered father caught in a struggle between tradition and modernity, is a tough role. He’s the only complex character in the whole show, and anyone who takes on the role has to compete with two legendary performances, by Zero Mostel and Topol.
Michael Bajjaly makes a fine Tevye, faithful to the spirit of the character without being imitative of the classic performances. Tevye’s wry one-liners come across just as well as the heaviness of his emotional burden in Bajjaly’s performance.
The music in “Fiddler” (by Jerry Bock) is not especially melodic -- “If I Were a Rich Man” is a notable exception -- and some songs are difficult to sing. Bajjaly sings some of them imperfectly, but because he’s such an appealing actor, the songs all work. “Do You Love Me?,” a musically awkward song, ends up being the emotional highlight of the show, thanks to the chemistry between Bajjaly and Sharon Albert, who plays his wife Golde.
There are a lot of noteworthy performances in smaller roles, especially all three of Tevye’s marrying daughters, Marina Wright, Katherine C. Herbert and Emily Arthur.
There’s also a really solid seven-piece orchestra.
Director Cheryl Carty’s approach is straightforward. But she adds a nice touch by having the title character, the actual fiddler, much more prominent than usual. The fiddler, a symbol both of the tradition that binds Tevye and his need to maintain balance, is a nearly constant presence, dancing through across stage at pivotal moments.
“Fiddler” is on the long side, solidly over two and a half hours, and has only a couple of good songs. So there are times when this production feels tedious. But there are more times when it feels engaging and even powerful.
Details: Through May 19, Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W, Bradenton. Show times: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $26-$36. Information: 941-748-5875 or www.manateeplayers.com.
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